Lesson Seven Teaching Guide:
Suggested timings for today’s 1 hour class:
Get seated and settled - Class Intro (5 mins)
Read/Listen to Lesson/Story and review Demo board exercises (20 mins)
Students play on individual boards with partners. (25 mins)
Cleanup (5 mins)
Regroup/Debrief for review and awards for daily challenges completed. (5 mins)
Summary: Briefly review of last week’s lesson + chess challenge. Cover today’s story, demo board exercises + review questions, and the daily challenge.
Story + Demo Board Exercises/ Puzzles: Story: The Knights navigate the mysterious Night Realm and devise a new way of moving that disguises their movements. A sudden brush with danger sees them bravely capture cloaked creatures, only to find out they aren’t what they seemed to be.
Demo board: Show how the Knight’s ‘dance’/move and capture. Briefly show where they’re most effective ( center of the board = they have access to 8 squares versus 4 if they stay on the rim. “Knights on the rim are grim”). Practice moving the Knights by playing ‘Knight's Tour!’ Emphasize NOT landing on the same square twice = illegal. Hand out worksheets.
Game Instructions: Do Knight’s Tour Worksheets. Try to best your own score!
Game Objective/How to Win:
Use the Knight to land on as many squares as possible without landing on the same square twice! How may square can you touch?
Practical Lessons Learned:
How the Knights move, block, and capture. They are most effective and powerful from open play. They have access to 8 squares from in the center of the board. Only 4 if on the edge. “Knights on the rim are grim."
Emotional Lessons Learned:
How to adapt to changing circumstances. The importance of slowing down to think before acting. How to respect others choices without pressuring them to do what we want, or think is best. How to consider our needs while also considering the needs or wants of others.
Daily Challenge:
Best your own score in the Knight’s Tour!
Review Questions for Lesson Seven: (Suggestions)
How did the Knights use their others senses when they couldn’t see? How can this skill help you in life and in chess?
How did the Knights react to challenging circumstances (finding themselves in the Night Realm)?
How do the Knights move and capture? How is this different to our other characters/pieces?
How did their Knight-Vision Goggles help them? Have you ever used a tool to help you through a scary situation?
What does this story teach us about making big decisions? Why is it important to take our time?
“Have you ever made a quick decision and realized later you needed more time?”
Introduce Game:
Who is ready to ready to play Knight’s Tour? Let’s go!
Post Game Debrief:
Review how the game went, if there were any problems/successes. Reward students for challenges completed.
Piece Abbreviations
Kings = K, Puppy Pawns = P, Bull Rooks = R, Pony Boy Knights = N
Piece Values: (According to each pieces’ favorite number. See Lessons 3 & 10)
K = Infinity
P’s = 1 point each
R’s = 5 points each
N’s = 3 points each
Demo Board Setup and Explanations:
Board 1: Today we’ll learn how to move and dance like the Knights. Just as our Knights explored the Night Realm, so will we do here. Except we can see. :)
First, let’s remember this principle: “Knights on the rim are grim”. Which means, as we’ll see, that our Knights are much more powerful and efficient if they play in the center of the board.
Keeping themselves in the center gives them more freedom to move and capture. See If you can capture a pawn.
In the center, they have access to 8 different squares. Whereas on the edge, they have half as many options. Only 4 squares are available to them. Try it yourself! Place one Knight in the center and one on the edge of the board!
Board 2: Now, let’s see how many Puppy Pawns you can capture! After that, we’ll add some more pieces to the board!